


Grave Coincidences

by qualisign



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Cousin Incest, F/M, M/M, Mystery, Psychological Horror, gothic horror, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 19:42:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10287713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qualisign/pseuds/qualisign
Summary: Vash Zwingli, eldest son of Conrad Ferdinand Zwingli, and future proprietor of the Zwingli bank received a letter from an old friend, Roderich von Edelstein. In the letter, Roderich asks for Vash to visit him in his old, family manor. With some unfortunate events in his own life, Vash opts to visit his old friend. However, the state of the von Edelstein manor is much worse than Vash could imagine, and there's a disconcerting atmosphere surrounding the place and those that inhabit it; including that of Roderich himself.Initially intended to be a gift one-shot for a friend, Pepper, I ended up getting emotionally invested, and because of the subject matter and my own, busy life, it's taking quite a long time to write. Because of that, and the fact that it is a gift and I don't want her to wait another two months, it's going to be a three-shot. Content warnings will be added in chapters as they come up.





	

The sky had brightened when Vash Zwingli left the comforts of the inn, the letter which brought him to Spitz an der Donau carefully folded and tucked away into the pocket of his overcoat. Not wanting to travel exposed in the rain if he had to, he was thankful that he arrived earlier than the date requested by his dear, old friend. The letter had come as a bit of a surprise since Vash had not heard anything of Roderich von Edelstein for two years. The presence of a lady had cut their connection, but since the loss of his dear sister, Vash had grown somber in his loneliness. Even if Roderich had ulterior motives, Vash had known the man since they were small children. The promise to escape his own empty estate to a livelier, more comforting one was enough motivation to take a two-week vacation from his studies.

His horse continued the trek out of town, into the hills slowly dying into shades of brown. The Danube reflected the colors back on its surface turning the world into the shades of a photograph. Vash would consider them to be beautiful, if not for the clouds rolling back in and the fractured sunlight forcing itself out of the thick gray of a coming overcast. Preparations seemed to be for nothing, the rains would come and he had no control over the climate. There was little shelter to be had once he had ridden far enough out of the town centre, but the light sprinkles soaked him slowly and allowed him to keep up the trot into the rolling hills. The Edelstein estate wasn't too terribly far and fitted nicely as the last stop on the dirt road. The farms that speckled the landscape decreased, but the road went out much further than Roderich's map had implied. He had written that it would have taken a few hours at most to reach him from Spitz an der Donau. He couldn't be more false.

Typical of Roderich to give an unclear map with an unclear time frame. Vash should have brought one of his own, but his sister's passing had torn him apart and caused a lapse in his judgment. The road continued on, and as much as it wore on his patience, he was not prepared to turn around the direction he had came to ride Wim back into town. That would take hours, and the sun was already low in the sky.

At this rate, he would have to stop at a farm house and plead for hospitality, which would involve the risk of relying on strangers. Vash would do anything to avoid being at the mercy of friend or foe and cherished his ability to handle himself. But still, the sun was setting and panic started to settle in.

It was by a mere stroke of luck that a trio of boys were wandering down the path in the opposite direction that he was heading. There would be no reasonable person setting out that far to town by foot at this hour, so Vash assumed that they must live in the area. Certainly, any local would be able to tell him about the location of a massive estate, no matter if they were simple-minded farmers.

He pulled on Wim's reins, and he slowed to a stop. The three looked up at him, and the tallest offered his greeting before Vash even had the time to speak.

“Good evening. You... wouldn't happen to be a certain Vash Sebastian Zwingli, would you?”

Vash kept his head held high, though the relief he felt washed over him like warm water. Roderich was competent enough to send his staff to find him at the very least. And among the three of them was a familiar face. Of the two smaller boys, the one with mussed, brown hair had been a good friend of his sister's. He couldn't fathom how he ended up working for Roderich, but the rain felt cold in his bones and he reasoned that he could wonder about Lili's close friend later.

“I am.” He spoke with all the confidence he could muster, despite his disheveled state. It seemed good enough for the tallest boy, for his eyes briefly lit up behind the frames of his glasses, and he gestured down the dirt road that he had come from. It was good luck that Roderich's servants had caught him and that he hadn't passed them. But, this method left so much up to chance. Vash cursed Roderich's last minute thinking while driving Wim beside the small party of three. A sign could not have hurt. But yet, there were no labels all along the road...

The paranoia sunk in before relief did, and Vash cursed the God he ventured away from for not inquiring the trio before they had led him off. But, he was wet, cold, and tired... and the sun had just disappeared behind the hills. Besides, he knew one of them, and the others seemed familiar and friendly enough. Roderich must have spoken of them, or he was attempting to trick himself into comfort.

“You're later than Herr von Edelstein implied you would be.” Said the tallest, once again. He seemed to be the unofficial leader of the three.

“We had to wait out there in the cold all on our lonesome until you showed up. I thought you weren't coming. Lili...” the boy with the brown hair paused and a deep sadness filled his eyes, “Lili emphasized how punctual you would be.”

It struck him as well, and Vash was rendered speechless for a moment. The mourning held in the air, but the tallest chased it away with pointless conversation.

“I'm Eduard, by the way, I'm one of three servants remaining at the von Edelstein estate. Raivis,” he gestured to Lili's friend, “and Feliks,” and then to the blonde companion who had yet to speak, “have both been recently employed for compensation of room and board. They were desperate, apparently. How they ended up all the way out here is still a mystery to me.”

“I see...” He was tired, and not at his best for simple pleasantries. That was especially so for whatever sad excuses for servants managed to stick around after the von Edelstein family lost much of their fortune. 'The damn Italian rebellions,' he'd say. Losing the land his family owned in Lombardy-Venetia destroyed the income that came from the wheat fields there. The estate in Spitz an der Donau was the last property that the von Edelstein's owned, and Roderich refused to give it up because of pride. If Roderich would just get a regular job, he easily had the connections to claw himself out of his impoverished state. Damn the man for being so stubborn and caring more for his noble status than the well-being of himself and anyone living under him.

The estate was still a fair distance off from the main road, and Vash questioned again why Roderich, or his cousin, had not put up any signs as the sky faded into a deep indigo. Was Roderich that ashamed? In his letters, he had made the family situation sound bad, but the nobleman was melodramatic about most things. Vash did not take it seriously until he saw the proof of disrepair.

The gate, one that Vash had remembered as gleaming and majestic when he was a child, had long since rusted, the vegetation just starting to grow up the iron beams and twirl around in a twisted waltz. The yard was in disarray, with the grass overgrown and the flowerbeds yet to have their dead removed. It looked as though people were trying, but there was too much to handle, as small patches of swept away leaves dotted the property closest to the door. The path, thankfully, was clear of debris and strangely pristine and spotless, but at least he could lead Wim to the stables without straining him. The flash of a woman's face peering out from a window was the only thing he registered on the trip to situate his horse.

* * *

 

Vash was thankful, in the end, that there were no steps that led to the door of the estate. Wood would have been eaten away with time, and stones would be slippery in the rain. It was good for him to not slip and embarrass himself in front of his embarrassing friend. The knocker was that of a horse, and the sound of the handle hitting against metal resounded in the still night. The footsteps echoed beyond the door almost immediately, and the sound of heavy wood creaking opened up the world of the outside to that of the inside. A single, familiar eye peered out, and the door opened fully to accommodate their party.

Roderich von Edelstein, master of the house and heir to the von Edelstein title, stood in a faded, but regal banyan coat. His skin was much paler than he remembered, and his eyes were hollow and set far back in his head. He looked tired, like the weight of the world had crashed back down into him, and Vash guessed that the glasses he wore were more to hide the bags in his eyes than any actual need for them.

“Herr Zwingli!” Hearing himself addressed formally by Roderich felt odd, but Vash was educated in regards to societal norms and took his good friend's hand nonetheless. “It's so good to see you. I'm glad that my staff were able to find you. I was starting to get worried.”

“Not worried enough to install signs?” His words intended to have a bite to them, but he was so tired and he had not seen Roderich in so long.

“I meant to... other matters simply got in the way.” Roderich's eyes dulled for a moment, but he quickly went back to his role as host. “You look exhausted, though. You tease me for forgetting the signs, but you did not prepare for rain?”

Vash groaned and, against the norms he knew so well, pushed past his host. He caught just a short glimpse of Roderich checking to make sure he left no imprints on the silk of his coat before he called out.

“You must be famished after all that travel,” Roderich's words still carried with them the bell-like ring of class, it was one of his only charming features, “At the very least, I must implore you to have dinner. Especially since there are a few people I would like you to meet.”

More guests? That was news to him. Unless the three servants, who had now taken his coat and stood behind Roderich, were the “guests.” “I didn't know you had company.”

“Well, you see, I think you are aware that marrying into money would be one of the most... rational options to dealing with my... predicament.”

“You have a woman over?”

“Well, yes and no, more of a connection to a woman who seems interested.” Roderich looked directly past him, Vash turning with him to follow. There, in the frame of the hall stood a girl he hadn't even noticed. Petite and out of the way, she seemed so far from Roderich's type that it was laughable. Concealed by the shadows of the hall, the only features that stuck out on her was her attire. Her earrings caught the light of the parlor candles and her dress was a luxurious, snowy white, something his sister would have worn.

“Fräulein Williams?” Roderich asked.

“Y...Yes?” 'Fräulein Williams' replied.

“This,” he gestured back to Vash, “is Vash Sebastian Zwingli, the eldest son of Conrad Ferdinand Zwingli, proprietor of the Zwingli bank. We go far back.”

“It's a pleasure.” She curtseyed and joined the company, just as the wind had started picking up outside and the storm had returned in full.

“Awful weather. Looks like the four of you just managed to avoid the worst.” Tree branches scratched against the window and created eerie shadows on Roderich's adored piano. The heir motioned them down the hallway. “Fräulein Williams' prepared dinner in Feliks' absence. There's no point in meandering any longer out here. I just pray that the glass stays intact.”

* * *

 

It was clear that Roderich and Fräulein Williams had pulled no strings in regards to the quality of ingredients and cooking. However, it was fairly hard to concentrate on the fine quality of the meal when there was no conversation to accompany it. Vash was not one to start a barrage of small talk, but Roderich prided himself in being a good host ever since he was a boy. Vash didn't understand why he wasn't trying to encourage dining room banter. This was especially true when the servants were dining with them, a strange occurrence that puzzled Vash even more. Roderich did not challenge the status quo, and especially not with a woman of whom he sought courtship with her lady. Poverty must do something to the brain.

“You must find it odd; those dining at the table as they are.” He coughed, and Vash truly noticed how sickly and frail of a man Roderich had become. “Ever since Elli left, the manor grew quite lonely. I think it's only fair to want some company at meals.”

“You should sell the damn estate then and use your connections to regain your fortune.”

“You haven't changed at all, Vash. I can't do that. I have a name to maintain! A name that goes back generations. It's different than the situation with your father. You don't have a title to defend.”

Oh, how he wanted to start yelling. But then, Roderich would go on an hour long tangent about proper dinner etiquette and how that would have ruined his name at court. As if either of them were at court, or that that court still existed in the same grandeur as it had a century earlier. Roderich was dead to his present time, existing in a past he was never a part of. Instead, he directed his attention to Fräulein Williams. She seemed to be a reasonable woman.

“So, you're here on business?”

“Oh... yes. I'm here for the Lady Bonnefoy, my employer.”

“I don't get what she sees.”

“What she sees,” Roderich interrupted, “is the possibility to gain a noble title. I've still never met her, but she comes from a merchant family that practically lines their pockets with bills.”

“You're looking to marry then?” Somehow, he never pictured Roderich ever settling down. He loved his family, and what he imagined as his family, more than he could ever love some woman.

“I think it's about time that I do.” Roderich sighed, and, with that, the conversation ended. There was no bickering, no pointing out character flaws... Vash might had griped about them in the past, but he wished for them over this pathetic shell of a man that sat before him.

He was the one who had to break the silence once again, hoping for Fräulein Williams to shed some light on the gloomy atmosphere over Roderich.

“T...Those are lovely earrings. Are they real diamonds?”

“What?” Fräulein Williams drew her hands up to her ears to play with the clasps, a worrisome look on her face. The silence remained for a moment, but she collected herself relatively quickly and returned her hands to the table. “Yes? They are. They were a gift.”

“I see.”

* * *

 

The remainder of their dinner was eaten in silence. It could have been his paranoia setting in, but Vash felt like he and Roderich were the only ones perturbed. Roderich had dismissed them as soon as the last utensil dropped, and was quick to move out of the dining room. Considering how the wind had picked up, Vash was ready to leave any room with large windows. If he rationalized the poor weather, the poor conversation seemed to be more natural, as though the gloom from outside had seeped into his host. The tree branches still clawed at the windows, as though wanting to be let in, and the thin veil of glass seemed less capable of keeping them out.

The parlor did little to ease his worries. He was tired and wished to turn in so that they may all have a fresh start when the birds sang the coming morning. But Roderich, ever the musician, wished to ease them through the power of music instead. The piano was the only thing that was immaculately well-kept in the parlor, and it was characteristic of Roderich to want to show that off. His hands, once so manicured, danced across the keys very much like the branches outside. He sounded as tired through the concerto as he did when he spoke, and the grace that Roderich possessed through music shattered. It was technically impressive, but was visually as sick as his face. Instead of lifting his spirits, Schumann dragged him down. The servants remained silent, and Fräulein Williams had taken to her room for the evening, forcing him into the onslaught of despair caused by the dissonance of the storm and Roderich's melancholic performance.

“You've lost your touch,” Vash commented.

Roderich had returned his hands to his lap. “It's better than your own performances.”

In any other circumstance, Vash would have retorted immediately, but he felt like neither of them had the energy to go back to the way things once were at this point. Roderich had excused himself, and despite Vash's want to know what exactly was wrong and what he wasn't being told, he couldn't bring himself to push those boundaries tonight. It could wait until tomorrow, he reasoned. Everything would return to normal tomorrow.

* * *

 

Raivis and Feliks were the ones who led him to his chambers. Raivis did all of the talking, while Feliks kept his eyes firmly on the ground. When Vash inquired why the blonde boy refused to speak to him, Raivis responded instead.

“Feliks does not speak German.”

“Then how did Roderich end up hiring him? You know how high his standards are. Impoverished or not, he wouldn't stand for a permanent hand that couldn't communicate with guests.”

“Desperation changes a person,” Raivis responded curtly. His knuckles grew white around the candle he held, and the conversation halted until his guides stopped in front of a door that was worse for wear. Desperation didn't change the need for jobs to be done. If Roderich married this Bonnefoy woman, Vash would demand he fire his help immediately and get employees that could actually do their jobs. But, he was tired, and he had time. Everything would fall back into place... he was convinced.

Raivis wished him a quick “good night,” with Feliks still recoiling behind his companion in complete silence. And, with that, Vash was left alone to his own thoughts and the branches scratching against the window.

* * *

Sleep escaped him, but Vash tried nonetheless. He had endured storms many a time before, and the room met his standards with clean sheets and dusted floors. There was simply too much weighing on his mind. He registered every sound, and rose to the door creaking and the shadow of his sister standing in the frame before it shut again.

The night truly was doing a number on him. He couldn't fall back asleep if he wanted to, and he waited for the sun to shine light on him before closing his eyes again.

* * *

 

The sky brightened with midday. Vash was left undisturbed and panicked when he saw that the sun was high in the sky. He was going to have a word with Roderich for ruining his morning routine by being a poor host. The night before had been far enough in terms of lack of hospitality. Vash demanded an explanation.

“Roderich!” Storming down the stairs, he was met only with the startled faces of Eduard and Fräulein Williams. “Roderich! You know that I have a daily schedule! I shouldn't have to tell you how important it is for me to get my walk in in the morning!”

“Herr von Edelstein is not here right now,” Eduard spoke with an air of authority that he shouldn't have.

“What do you mean he's not here?!” He really had to watch his blood pressure. Raising his voice like this wasn't necessary, but at the same time, who did Roderich think he was leaving him on the first full day of his stay? That would have never passed in court!

“What I mean, is that he's not here right now,” Eduard spoke as though repeating the exact same words was somehow clarifying. It was infuriating. He must have noticed his irritation though, because he cleared his throat and continued, “Herr von Edelstein just leaves sometimes. He doesn't tell any of us when he goes or where he goes. It's just something we've all come to accept. I had just explained that to  
Fräulein Williams.”

Fräulein Williams nodded to confirm his statement. “I just hope he's not trying to avoid me.”

“He's not. This is typical behavior.” Eduard replied, “Please, don't take it to heart. He'll be back before you leave.”

“I leave tomorrow.”

“He will be back before the sun sets tonight then.”

“He better,” Vash interjected, before storming off to find something better to do with his time. Fräulein Williams was decent company, and Eduard was the best of the three employees, but like Hell would he waste more of his precious day sitting around and waiting for Roderich to do his part. He wanted to figure out what the shadow was from the night previous. It felt too real to be a trick of the light and his imagination, and it gave him an excuse to figure out what it was that Roderich was hiding when Roderich wasn't there to confirm. Eduard called out for him to wait with them, but Vash was not about to sit around and wait for answers to come to him.

He took the path that Roderich had lead to the dining room the night before, allowing daylight to clear the air of mystery that the dilapidated manor had possessed in the stormy dark. Most of the doors were, unfortunately, locked, and the hallway presented little of interest besides the von Edelstein's tacky taste in late baroque décor. He tested yet another door, and, finding it locked, gave one more firm tug on the door knob before giving up in exasperation. Apparently, Roderich and his makeshift band of poor employees were good at something after all! But luck was also on his side, as the knob fell off onto the floor, and the door creaked open. He heard whispers from inside, and thrust the door in to shed light on whoever was clearly trying to mess with him.

“Roderich?!” His voice resounded in silence, with no response. His nerves were getting to him. The smell permeating down the stairwell was truly awful, and it made Vash's stomach flip. He was thankful there was nothing to retch up. With no desire to explore the dark pit of the basement, Vash removed one his right shoe and propped the door open. If Roderich wasn't going to let whatever vermin had died in his basement air out, then he would just have to do it for him. Either way, there was no exploring a basement without a lantern. The open space of the dining room presented a much warmer welcome anyways.

The light seeping through the windows and creating shadows on the table was only interrupted by the shattered glass at the end of the room. Vash was right to be nervous the night before, the tree did shatter the window pane. However, the tree itself was nowhere to be found, with not so much as a twig among the shattered glass. The direct sunlight felt good through his nightclothes, but for all the natural beauty, the sense of dread grew greater. There was no stump, it was as if the tree had never existed. But, Vash was in no way delusional. He never had been. He distinctly remembered the scratching of the branches. It was real.

He did his best to step over the glass, but still, there was nothing to imply that a tree had ever been close enough to the house to shatter the window.

He heard footsteps behind him and spun around, looking around anywhere for something to defend himself, but he only found the surprised faces of Raivis and Feliks.

“Herr Zwingli?” Raivis looked terrified, like he was about to break at any second. It was that lack of confidence that had made him such a poor suitor for his sister.

“What happened to the tree?!”

“W...What are you talking about?”

“There was a tree here last night. I distinctly remember it. Don't you try and play dumb with me!”

Raivis looked confused and scared, and Feliks remained largely concealed under his coat and bangs.

“It's not funny! Where's Roderich?!”

“He just leaves some---”

“Don't tell me what I already know! Roderich may be an airheaded dolt with no sense of direction or modernity, but I can tell you damn well that Roderich would never be caught dead treating a host so poorly.”

“Haven't you known each other for years? You're probably just a friend.”

“I wasn't talking about myself!” Raivis flinched and looked like he was about to cry. Vash didn't care. “What about Fräulein Williams?! I know damn well he's not over Fräulein Héderváry, but do you think some pompous idiot who references how the court used to be every two seconds would treat a lady like that?! Just leaving her to be entertained by barely competent servants who are clearly just there because Roderich still likes to play aristocrat and you're the only help he can afford?!”

The poor boy was crying now. “No wonder your sister wanted to get away from you.”

“Don't you...” He was trying so hard to conceal his anger for his own sake. But how dare this brat treat his sister's memory and their close bond like it was dirt?! “Don't you ever talk about my relationship with Lili. You know nothing.”

“I know more than you ever would!” And Raivis, this little boy, raised a pocket knife at him, his arm shaking. “I...If you love her so much, you'd learn to leave her alone.”

Vash kept his eyes trained on the blade. He never would have expected this, and was not about to deal with the filth that Roderich hired if this was how they acted. But the anger dissipated and was replaced with fear when Raivis held the tip of the blade mere centimeters from his body.

“Y...You honor her memory and leave her be.”

**Author's Note:**

> Gothic horror is my writing comfort zone because 19th century mentality + my deep, deep, deep love for the horror genre even at its trashiest. Let's hope I can remember that I made an outline to remember foreshadowing otherwise I'm gonna die.
> 
> If you listen to enough Nicole Dollanganger, you too can become an edgelord when writing fictional content.


End file.
